When the Music Stops
by Stephinator Lynn
Summary: This takes place after the 2014 film. Grace/Will and Annie of course. It's a little different, but I hope you enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

WHEN THE MUSIC STOPS

An Annie 2014 fic

Grace/Will

Grace Farrell and Will Stacks had been so busy getting paperwork signed so that Will could officially adopt Annie, opening the reading centre and getting all of the other foster kids taken care of financially. Will had even given Ms. Hannigan an apartment big enough for the girls. They were so busy, they barely had time to talk to each other unless it had to do with Annie. They didn't mind of course, Annie had been what brought them together in the first place.

To spend more time with Will, almost every morning Grace would run from her apartment through Central Park to Will's penthouse. She would stop and pick up bagels on the way and bring them for Annie, Will and herself. She had just enough time to drop Annie off at school and run home to get ready for work. Yes, her life was busy, but that was okay, she was used to it.

On this particular Wednesday morning, two months after Annie had begun to stay with Will for good, Grace took her usual route through the park, running through the familiar trails. She stopped at a bagel shop close by Will's apartment and after placing her hand on the sensor in the elevator, made her way to the top floor.

"Hey guys." She called as she let herself into the apartment. No one was around. She placed the bagels on the table. "Will? Annie?"

"In here, I'm being tortured." Grace smiled when she heard Annie's voice. She followed the sound until she ended up in Annie's bedroom. Will was trying to get Annie's hair into a couple of pigtails. Grace laughed. "Thank you. Grace help."

"Ok, ok. Will, I'll finish Annie's hair. Go and toast are bagels." Grace said, grabbing the hair brush from Will's hands. "Morning", she whispered to him.

"Morning beautiful." He whispered back. Grace smiled. She had just run all the way here and had absolutely no make-up on. Her black leggings were faded almost to grey, her Oxford t-shirt sweaty and her runners dirty but when Will called her beautiful she believed it.

"I can totally hear you guys." Annie said from the chair she was sitting on. Will just shook his head and walked out of the room and into the kitchen. "You know that you two can talk in front of me right? Just no kissing, kissing is gross."

"One day that will change Annie." Grace said, starting to fix the girls hair.

"Gross. I don't think so."

Grace smiled and finished up Annie's hair and the two of them made their way into the kitchen. "Here you go ladies, toasted bagels with strawberry cream cheese".

Annie quickly went to the dining room to sit down and eat her breakfast while Grace went into the kitchen where Will was still toasting his bagel. "Grace, we need to go out."

"What?" Grace looked confused.

"Like on a date. We've been so busy with everything."

"We have." She agreed. "So when do you want to go like on a date?"

"Tonight."

"Tonight?"

"Tonight."

"Hey are you guys coming in to eat or what?" Annie yelled from the dining room.

"We're coming." Will yelled back. Grace just shook her head. Annie and Will were actually a lot alike.

They came into the kitchen and Annie was almost finished with her breakfast. "So," she starts, her mouth still full, "where are you guys gonna go on your date?"

After breakfast, Grace left Annie and Will to get back home and ready for work. Today she had to check in on the literacy foundation in the morning and after lunch she had to get to STACKS and resume working on the one-week phone charge. Then, her date. Her and Will hadn't really gone on an official date since Annie brought them together. Will was very cryptic about it though, telling her to wear something casual.

She was halfway through Central Park when she got the strangest feeling that someone was watching her. She stopped for a moment to stretch and catch her breath and took this opportunity to look around. She saw no one. She shook the thoughts from her head and continued her run.

She was almost home when she heard car tires screeching to a halt. It was a van and out of the sliding doors came two men chasing after her. She ran as fast as she could to get away from them screaming, but they caught up with her. One of the men grabbed her leg and she went down. Then everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Will started to wonder what could have been keeping Grace at the reading centre so late. She said she would be back by lunch time at it was getting close to three in the afternoon. He picked up his phone to call Grace and there was no answer. He then called the reading centre.

"Good afternoon how may I help you?"

"Hi, this is Mr. Stacks."

"Oh, Mr. Stacks hello."

"Hi, do you know how much longer Miss Farrell will be with you guys?"

"Mr. Stacks, Miss Farrell hasn't stopped by at all today. I thought you were calling to re-schedule."

"So you haven't seen her today?"

"No Mr. Stacks."

"Ok thank you." Will hung up his phone and quickly dialed his head of security. "I need someone to pick up Annie from school and bring her home. I also need someone to drive me to Grace's apartment."

"Is everything ok Mr. Stacks."

"I'm not sure."

Grace opened her eyes and knew she was in an unfamiliar place. She was lying on a bed though, rather uncomfortable but still a bed.

"Oh good, you're awake. They told me you tripped and hit a rock on your way down."

Grace sat up and turned to the voice. "Mr. Greene?" Grace new him immediately. He was second in mobile phone sales; second to Will. They had battled for years but Will had come out a head. She knew that they did not like each other one bit. "What am I doing here?" She looked around what looked like a large mechanical experiment room. All steel and no windows with computers everywhere. Much like Will's offices only these ones were darker, and colder. Grace shivered a little. If this was Greene Mobile's head office, they had to still be in New York City. Grace was relieved to know that she might still be in the city.

"Oh Miss Farrell, you're not here to be uncomfortable. He handed her a jacket. It was her jacket, from her apartment. "You and Stacks are always two steps ahead of me. That needs to stop. I need your help with the week-long charge."

"You think I'm going to help you? Will's gonna look for me, and he's going to find me. He's probably already at the door."

Maxwell Greene pulled Grace's dismantled phone from his pocket. "He might have a little trouble. Plus, he thinks you left on purpose."

"What?"

"See the suitcase in the corner? That's yours. He'll think you couldn't handle the pressure of being a billionaires girlfriend, and a mother to an orphan."

"Im not helping you. I refuse. You can't make me!"

"That's a shame Grace. We wouldn't want anything to happen to Annie now would be." Maxwell pulled out his own phone. It was video footage of Annie playing with her friends. It was from today. They were watching her.

"No." She whispered. "Please." Tears filled her eyes. "She's been through enough."

"This doesn't have to be difficult Grace."

"Just don't hurt them and I'll help you."

"I am glad we have come to an agreement."

Grace didn't say anything. She couldn't let anything happen to Annie, even if that meant helping Mr. Greene.

When Will got to Grace's apartment he was extremely confused. Most of her stuff was boxed up as if she was moving somewhere. This was so unlike Grace.

"Sir, there's a note on the kitchen table."

Will walked over, "you guys can wait for me downstairs." He didn't want them around while he read this.

'Will,

I'm sorry I have to do this to you; to Annie. It's all too much for me right now. I can't stand the pressure of being with a billionaire and a mother to Annie. I'm leaving for a while. Please do not look for me. Tell Annie I am sorry and I hope to see her again soon.

Grace'

"Why would she do this?" He asked out loud. Grace had never mentioned any of this to him before. Why wouldn't she just talk to him? He would give up everything thing he had, all of his money for Grace and Annie. How was he going to tell Annie about this? She would be crushed.

END CHAPTER 2


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Will left Grace's apartment about a half hour after he had read her note. He still couldn't quite wrap her head around it all. Hurting him was one thing, but he was almost angry at her for hurting Annie. And now he had to go home and tell Annie, who loved Grace probably more than she loved him, had left without so much as a goodbye.

He sat in the back of the Cadillac on his way back to his apartment trying to think of what he was going to tell Annie. He knew she would know that something was up because only he and Grace would ever pick her up from school. But he could probably call off the security. He thought that something had happened to Grace.

It was then that he let a tear slip out. Honestly, he had been in love with Grace ever since she had started working for him. She was so intelligent and had quickly risen to his second in command. She had made him billions of dollars. None of that was as important as to how beautiful she was. At times he would agree to go to charity balls just to see her in a beautiful gown.

And then he had decided to run for New York mayor and things had all gotten busy and then he had saved Annie. That was when everything changed. Annie had brought Grace and him closer than ever before. When she came over to make sure that bow was facing the right direction was the first time he thought maybe they could really be together.

All of his reminiscing brought his quickly back to his apartment complex, something else that Grace had helped him design. She had been the only person besides himself that had security clearance to come into the penthouse. He had trusted her completely. Now what was he supposed to do? He sighed and got out of the Escalade and headed up.

Grace had been introduced to members of "her team", a team that would help Mr. Greene with his weeklong charge. Grace was hoping to make this as fast as possible, although during her meeting she could tell they weren't as sophisticated as the engineers they had at Stacks.

She was left alone in a room. It was nice, fully furnished and had most of her clothes brought over. She couldn't believe this was happening but she had to make the weeklong charge so that they wouldn't hurt Annie or Will.

"Are all of the amenities to your standards Miss Farrell?" Mr. Greene said as he walked in.

"They're fine." She said, not making eye contact with him.

"You know I always wondered why you never had a real man at your side. I mean, we all knew that Stacks would never man up for you. It took a little girl."

"Shut up Greene." She said.

"I would have made a move on you the day you came to work for me." He said, touching her shoulder.

Grace flinched away from him. "I'm just here to get you your stupid weeklong charge and then you will let me go right?"

"Of Course Grace"

"Good. Then I want another meeting with the team".

With that Mr. Greene left this so called room. Grace sat alone, tears started to fall. "Oh Will, please don't think I left you." She whispered to herself.

She thought of the day she had interviewed with Will. He had said she had more balls than any other applicant for his company. She was hoping that those same balls could get her out of this situation. In a company that made cell phones, there had to be a way she could get her hand on one.

"Will, what's wrong?" Annie asked as soon as he came through the door. "You or Grace always pick me up from school?" Annie still called Will by his name and not dad. It was still too new and felt a little weird.

"Annie, maybe we should have a seat on the couch. I need to tell you something."

"Is Grace okay?" Annie questioned, reading him like a book. She noticed everything. "Did something happen to her?"

"Annie please."

"Tell me." She was losing control now. Grace was the closest thing she had ever had to a mother that she could remember.

"Grace left." Will said simply, the pain of it all still fresh.

"What? Why?" Tears started to well in Annie's eyes. "She's coming back right?"

"I don't know Annie. She left a note-"

"Can I see it?" Annie wiped at the tears with her sleeve.

"Uhh, sure." Will pulled the note out of his back pocket. He had to admit he was a little proud. A little while ago Annie couldn't even read at all. He let her take his time and when she was done he watched her put the letter down. "Annie, you okay?"

"She promised she would never leave me." She whispered to herself, but Will heard her.

"Sometimes things just don't work out."

"But she promised. I thought Grace was different than my real parents." Will could tell Annie was trying really hard not to hate Grace. She has mad and sad. She ran to Will and hugged him fiercely. "I love her so much." She said into his shirt.

"I know Annie. I do too." As he held Annie in his arms while she cried, he couldn't help but want to hate Grace too. He couldn't though, he loved her so much.

"Can we try to find her? Maybe she went home to England or something. I'm sure STACKS Mobile could track her down." Annie suggested.

"She doesn't want us to Annie. We have to respect that."

"Maybe we could talk to her or something? Maybe something fell on her head and she went crazy."

Will smiled and put his arm around Annie. "how about we all take some time, and I order us some pizza and ice cream."

"I'm not really hungry." Annie answered, taking Sandy and walking to her room.

Will let her go, not really knowing what else he could do to make her feel better right now. But he was definitely getting himself some pizza and ice cream. Maybe Annie would want some later.

END CHAPTER


End file.
